The Chronicles of Skyrim - The Legend of Ten
by Nathan364
Summary: Ten names shaped Skyrim's History since the attack on Helgen. They were all bound to cross each others path at some point to become a dysfunctional force that is feared. Who are these ten people? The Thalmor want to know if these ten have delayed their plans to ascend into godhood. This is why they listen to the Prophet who has seen life through the ten's eyes beforehand.
1. Prologue: The Prophet

**Hello people, I've been trying to come up with a way to add multiple characters in one story, until I figured out you can't really do that. It is a collection of ten characters in first person point of view and their journey's throughout the events of Skyrim. Their paths and ideals intertwine making the entire experience of Skyrim come into one. Each character is of one race. Some of them are veterans of their specialty while others are learning how to better themselves. The plot of the story is general Skyrim gameplay with heavily tweaked features. There is more to the world of the Elder Scrolls than Skyrim's general gameplay even with expansion packs in this story. I gave it more life, bigger towns and cities, more character development, new people in general, and gave Skyrim much more potential than before with similar ideas coming from modded gameplay and my own imagination of how things could happen if they were implemented into gameplay. I'll make the story as lore friendly as possible as well. Major Quest lines are all taken in mantle by five different characters such as the Main quest, College of Winterhold quest line, Dark Brotherhood Quest, The Companions Quest, and the Thieves Guild Quests. So where does that leave the remaining five characters? Don't worry I have plans for them as well and they won't just be sitting around not doing anything. These characters are all molded after my created characters in playing skyrim. But generally, I hope you will enjoy this attempt to bring Skyrim even more life than Bethseda Softworks, even if it is going to be a challenge as they are gods among mortals for their lore and RPG's.**

**As a side note, my other Fanfiction**_**, Chronicles of Skyrim – Dragonskin: Master of the Arcane Arts**_**, is included in this story, so I have a head start on his part in the story. I might just delete the other fanfiction until everyone else is caught up.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story and give me feedback.**

_**Disclaimer: This Disclaimer is for the entire story. I own no characters in this story or its contents. I am simply making a story in correlation to fanfiction. Bethseda Studios own the Elder Scrolls series and all that is related to it.**_

_**Chapter Rating: T**_

…**.**

**Chronicles of Skyrim – The Legend of Ten**

**Prologue- The Prophet**

He sat there in that dark room that was lit by magelight in the center. He wore robes that bore resemblance to the robes of the Psjic Order, but they weren't. The old Elf looked mildly tired, as if he had spent a night without sleep. Other than that, there was no worry in the old elf's features. On the other end of the table however, were two more Elves, though much younger, wearing armor crafted by their own kind. It was Elven Armor. They had a look of discipline upon their face. An Elven woman came in with dark robes on that was hooded. She bore the same discipline upon her face as her brethren. She made her way up between the two standing Elves.

"You are right on time my dear lady," The old elf spoke, "Tell me, how is your husband? Still recovering from his bout with Rockjoint Fever?"

"You were expecting me?" The Elven woman asked.

"But of course," The old elf replied with a courteous manner, "I have foreseen this moment several years ago, just like I know what will happen afterwards, and how this all plays out." He looked at the Elf on the right. "Gods Bless you." A few seconds later the Elf sneezed.

The Elven woman looked over at the sneezing soldier before turning back to the old man.

"Then I suppose you know why you're here prophet?"

"Oh I do dear lady," The old man said, "The question is, do you understand the implications that will come of what you seek? Do you in fact, know that knowledge of the past changes nothing? Time cannot be rewritten. What you seek won't change what has happened. The Divines blessed me with this sight for one purpose. A purpose that I cannot divulge—"

"That's where I'm going to stop you," The Elven woman interrupted, "You will divulge any information we seek."

"How rude," The Prophet said not looking offended, "I foresaw that interruption however, so I know it falls upon deft ears to tell you otherwise. Now if you allow me to continue without further interruptions…."

"Go on," The Elven woman spoke.

"What you seek," The Prophet spoke, "Is the truth. The truth of how everything happened. You want to know what sequence of events led to this moment in time where everything that you fought for came to this turning point. You want to ensure Elven Supremacy correct?"

"You know the answer to that," The Elven woman spoke.

"Indeed I do," The Prophet spoke, "But to understand your future, you need to understand everything from the beginning and how ten individuals played their roles in Fate."

"Ten individuals?" The Elven Woman spoke, "What do these ten have to do with one man?"

"Hold your tongue," The Prophet spoke, "All will be explained in time. But to answer your question, this man I am referring to is indeed one of the ten who set things in motion for the rest of Skyrim and incidentally, all of Tamriel. I have seen their lives through their own eyes as the Gods allowed me to. Their memories are my own. What I tell you, will be from my own experience. I cannot tell you what you seek unless you understand their views and what drove them to become what they had. Do you have the patience to listen?"

"Yes," The Elven Woman spoke, "Reluctantly though."

"I knew you would," The Prophet replied.

"Of course you did," The Elven woman replied.

"Now," The Prophet spoke, "The ten individuals all became famous, or infamous when you think about it. Their role in history and shaped the world it is today. These ten were all in the events during the Dragon Crisis. The Civil War, the assassination of Titus Mede II, the Thieves Guild return to power, the thwart of Ancano's plot in the College of Winterhold, the Silver-hand/Companion War, the Vampire Crisis, the Solsthiem incident, the return of the Blades, the destruction of the Thalmor detachment of Skyrim, the Skyrim Orcish Tribal Wars, the skirmishes of the Reach, the reign of Blackscale, and the rise of The Saberfang. Most of them had a part in another's destiny, all deeming each other comrades by the end of it all."

"You mean to tell me that all of the participates of these events were working together?" The Elven woman asked.

"No," The Prophet spoke, "Just the ten names who made the way things are today. We'll go by the names they had come to be known as. Blackscale, the Heavenly Mistress, The Saberfang, The Giant Kin, Dragonskin, Silverfox, Black Wolf, The Silent Shade, the Falcon Ranger, and of course the Dragonborn. These were the ten titles that found each other and the ones that created a better fate for the world."

"That's where you're wrong," The Elven woman spoke, "Elven supremacy is the only fate for the world. It is what will happen, and what will be absolute. We will ascend to godhood."

"You Thalmor are so blind in your goal to become gods that you don't realize that you have flaunted Auri-El's teachings," The Prophet spoke, "He is most displeased with all those who follow your ideals."

"I did not come here to discuss matters of religious purposes," The Elven woman spoke, "I came to discuss—"

"I know why you brought me here," The Prophet interrupted looking for once disgruntled. "You _will_ listen to what I have to say if you want to understand your future."

"Fine," The Elven woman said, "Make it quick then."

"No," The Prophet replied, "It is a long story. And you will listen to every bit of it. Is that clear?" His voice came with power, almost like someone who could tell anyone what to do."

"Yes," The Elven woman spoke a little put off. Even her soldiers looked slightly shaken.

"Good," The Prophet spoke. "Now. Let's start with….."

With that, the Prophet told lives of ten individuals who all found each other and became an unstoppable force…..


	2. Joradin- Composure, Speed, and Precision

**So this is the first official chapter of the story. The Prologue got a lot of views and visitors so I'm assuming that people enjoyed it. This is a spoiler alert however. Part one is pretty much an introduction phase of the story, each chapter holding the attack of Helgen. If you haven't noticed that in the Prologue, just for reference and safety, I Rate each chapter based on their contents like the last being Rated T. Chances are, Rated T and M are going to fluctuate throughout this story. Each chapter is the POV of one of my characters, some chapters will be shorter or longer than others to balance it all out.**

**Thank you for reading so far. I love feedback, tell me what you think. Flamers will be ignored.**

**Chapter Rating: T**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chronicles of Skyrim: The Legend of Ten<strong>

"_We'll begin at an event in which the ten all bore witness to; the Dragon attack on Helgen. The first of the ten individuals I will speak of who became the way he was, because of you Thalmor. Everything that shaped his part in fate, was because of your actions in Valenwood."_

"_Which one of the ten are we talking about here?"_

"_A young Bosmer named Joradin who was molded to hate the Dominion."_

…

**Part 1 - Helgen**

**Chapter 1 - Joradin: Composure, Speed, and Precision**

_4E 201, 1__st__ of Sun's Height_

_Skyrim-Cyrodiil Border, Jerall Mountain Chain_

I remembered when the first time I wielded a bow. I was but a boy in the large forests of Valenwood with my father. It was a much simpler time then. He taught me the basics of hunting and wielding a bow and the basics of general outdoor survivability. These basics would be the foundation of my later life. Those were the good days; hunting in dense Valenwood forests with my father and brothers. Our family was extremely skillful at our profession. We would go on hunting trips for days, bringing back enough food and pelts for storage or bartering for days. But that didn't stop us from going back out again. It was an extremely addicting profession and we were damned good at it, even among our brethren. I wasn't as good as the rest of my family, mind you, I was still but a child. But I strove to be the best. Standing still, I could hit any target within fifteen meters if the target wasn't moving. It wasn't bad for a beginner, but it was considered amateurish in my family's eyes. Yes, my life was great as a child.

Of course, that was until the Aldmeri Dominion knocked down our door. You see, the Thalmor was in a period of forcing Altmer and Bosmer into Conscription to build up their numbers as they once were before the Great War. At the time, I didn't know any better and didn't know who the Thalmor were or the Dominion itself. These were just strangers to me. Obviously, my parents disagreed with their terms not wanting them or their children's lives of war and discipline under Aldmeri tyranny. None of us wanted anything to do with the Dominion. We wanted to live our lives as hunter-gathers. It was a simple life, that's all we wanted. But the Dominion had other plans. I watched as they slaughtered my parents for treason before ordering my older brothers to come with them or suffer the same fate. I hid in one spot the entire time watching on as the confrontation continued. The two Thalmor Agents earned arrows to the forehead by my two brothers. But my brothers too had fallen to the Altmer who had come in as reinforcements. I stayed in my house while the Thalmor cleaned up their own elf's corpses and looted my home of any valuables. They left the bodies of my family however. I would later find out that these Thalmor were performing nothing but a _cleansing_ of unsupportive Bosmer. That's why my family was eradicated. Hours later, when I thought they had left, I came out of my hiding spot. I wept. I wept so loudly and so long for my family, that I eventually garnered the attention of another Thalmor agent.

She walked in on me, barely a woman. I remembered her words. They were gentle and kind. _"Oh,"_ She said, _"I am so sorry my little dear. I am very sorry for your loss. I can't believe they would do this to you."_ I remembered looking up into the face of the High Elf. The teenager was beautiful beyond belief, but she wore the robes of a Thalmor Justicator, though without the hood. _"I wish I could've stopped them."_

"_I want my momma and daddy!" _I had wept, _"I want my-brothers!"_

"_I'm sorry young one," _The girl had said, _"But there's nothing I can do. I'm going to take you somewhere where the bad people can't get you. Would you like that?" _I had nodded, not knowing what she was going to do. I didn't know if she intended for things to happen the way they did, or if she put me in the orphanage of hell knowingly. _"What's your name?" _She had asked.

"_Joradin," _I spoke.

"_Joradin?"_ She had replied, _"My name's Avana. Come on, let's get you out of here."_ With that, she had wisked me away with a promise that I'd be safe and no one could hurt me. My days in the orphanage at first were lonely until I made some friends. But then not even a month into living there, a Thalmor researcher adopted us all. When I say adopted, I mean abducted. It had to have taken a sick mind for someone to do what that Mer did to us. He tortured us, experimented on us, and brought some of us back to life with Necromancy. I watched for years as other captives were killed off by this madman. But then, the Altmer let his guard down. I had killed this elf when he least expected it. The fool had forgotten to shackle me up before taking me out of my cage. He had left a bow and quiver nearby for when he used his captives as target practice. So I did the same to him. My aim was off due to years of not practicing, but I eventually killed him. Before I did though, I made his last moments agonizing. I put arrows through both of his thighs, his feet, his shoulders, his arms, his back as he tried to escape, then through his stomach, chest, throat, and finally his head. I was filled with so much rage for the Mer, I murdered him in cold blood. It was entirely justified however. I had run out of arrows though, so I discarded both and fled. I ran for a long while passing through Cyrodiil, and eventually coming to Skyrim. I got as far as I could from the Aldmeri Dominion.

This land was new to me, and vastly different from the forests of Valenwood. There was hardly ever snow there, not even in the colder seasons. I made the mistake of trudging up into the mountains. I hadn't slept in two days, and my feet probably had blisters on them. Not to mention I was probably going to die of hypothermia. I may have made more than one fatal mistakes as well. My first mistake was no sleep while my second was keep going without food. My third was making my way up the mountains without any thick clothing on and my final one was not watching my footing. I tumbled, going down the mountainside North. I didn't realize that I had made it to the peak of this particular part of the mountain chain. So when I tumbled, other than feeling completely stupid, I felt pain with each cliff I fell off. It didn't help that the last time I fell, I fell onto a road. If the snow wasn't so soft, I would've probably had been dead. I went in and out of consciousness for a while. The first time there was nothing but snowy clouds and empty road. The second time, I was awoken by snow falling upon me and covering the ground as well. The third time I was on something that was being dragged by someone or something. I didn't care. I just wanted my misery to end.

When I awoke, I was in a cozy cabin with a fire pit. My entire body ached in immense pain, but it was understandable for after what I went through. I could hear the sounds of wood splitting in the background. I was in a bedroll. There was a table, several cooking utensils and a side room that looked like it was a bedroom of some sort. There was no door on the cabin, but there was some kind of pressure plate. I looked above me to see a swinging log trap with a carved point on it. "Hello?" I asked hoarsely.

The wood chopping halted. A cloaked figure walked up to the door from outside. He walked over the pressure plate, but the trap didn't activate. He stopped at the door looking at me. The cloak he wore was thick and heavy being made up of thick animal pelts, his face covered with a hood and scarf. He started to unwrap the said scarf and even took off the hood. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this was a Nord woman. "So you're finally awake," She spoke taking off her leather gloves, "Don't try anything unless you want an arrow through your head."

"I won't," I replied my muscles stiff as they could be. There was a pain in my side, "Where are we?"

"We're in the mountains overlooking the Falkreath hold," The woman spoke coming to feel my forehead, "Where did you come from? You were pretty banged up when I found you."

"Valenwood," I replied with difficulty, "I had to escape."

"Escape what?" The woman asked.

"Torture," I replied, "I was tortured since I was a young boy, by a Thalmor psychopath."

"How old are you elf?" The woman asked walking over to a simmering pot.

"What year is it?" I asked leaning up and holding my head.

"4E 201, 3rd of Sun's Height," She replied stirring the pot.

I did the math in my head for a moment rubbing my forehead. I had been captive for seventeen years. "I'm twenty three," I replied holding my head in despair, "Auri-El preserve me. I've been in that hellhole for seventeen years…..seventeen years." My entire childhood, gone. I had no family, no friends, just nothing but endless torture every day.

The woman looked up at me with sympathy. "Gods help you," She said looking sympathetic, "I am so sorry. Now I understand why you have so many scars riddling your body." I punched the wooden floor in more despair, tears forming upon my face. "Be careful! Your injuries aren't fully healed yet." I nodded, words failing me. "Let's try to get your mind off of things. What's your name?"

"My name?" I asked, having trouble remembering. I started to try and siphon through my memories. I remembered some of it. The torture I never forgot. But before, all I remembered was my family. I couldn't remember my name though. Then a few seconds later, like a repressed memory that just surfaced, I remembered something.

"_What's your name?" _I remembered a beautiful high elf asking.

"_Joradin," _I had spoken.

"_Joradin?"_ She had replied, _"My name's Avana. Come on, let's get you out of here."_

I shook my head. "If you don't remember," The Nord woman said, "That's okay."

"No," I said, "No, I remember. My name's Joradin."

"Joradin huh?" The woman said, "Well my name's Angi."

"Pleased to meet you Angi," I replied.

"Likewise," Angi replied taking a bowl and pouring some soup in it, "Here you go, it's Venison Soup."

"Thank you," I replied nodding. The soup was boiling hot, but it tasted so damn delicious. "Mmm."

"You like?"

"Burnt my tongue a little," I replied, "But this is the best thing I've had in a long time." I took a cup of water and washed down the hot soup." I gulped down the soup like it was nothing. Angi ate hers savoring the taste.

She laughed though. "You must've been starving," She said, "Let me finish mine and I'll get you another bowl."

"Thank you," I replied.

"It's no problem really," Angi spoke up, "But after this, you need your rest. Those potions I bought in Falkreath won't do you much good if you don't get any."

"Speaking of which," I spoke, "Why didn't you take me to healers?"

"I know a little restoration magic myself," Angi replied dipping more soup in my bowl, "but to answer your question, the healers were called away to Helgen for a short while to help with the wounded Imperials there."

"Soldiers I'm guessing?"

"You've never heard of the Imperial Legion?"

"I've been in a torture chamber for seventeen years," I deadpanned, "and I was only six when I was taken."

"Oh right," Angi said, "Sorry."

"It's alright," I replied waving her off before eating more of my soup.

"Well the Imperial Legion is the Empire's main governing military force," Angi replied, "There are several Legion divisions, though like a first legion, a second legion, all the way to the thirtieth Legion."

"How many troops are in a legion?" I asked.

"4,000 to 6,000," She replied, "But there are about three divisions in Skyrim at the moment. The fourth being Skyrim's home Legion. There are also the sixth and eleventh Legions stationed here because of a Civil War going on."

"I see," I replied, "What kind of Civil War?"

"Most of my Kin, especially the Eastern side of Skyrim feel oppressed," She answered, "But one man organized them into a Rebellion. His name's Ulfric Stormcloak. The Rebellion's militia and army proudly took the mantle of being called Stormcloaks."

"Named after the man that started the rebellion?"

"Yes," Angi replied, "It began when he killed the High King of Skyrim, Torygg."

"He murdered the high king?"

"In a sense yes," Angi spoke, "Ulfric holds onto Nord traditions of our ancestors. He openly challenged High King Torygg for the right of the throne. The Empire however saw this as nothing more than murder, as he used an ancient power known as The Voice to kill the king. So, Skyrim went to war."

"That sounds…..horrible."

"This world has been bathed in war since before you were born boy," Angi replied, "A lot more since the Aldmeri Dominion and the Thalmor came to power." Just hearing the Aldmeri Dominion and Thalmor mentioned made my blood boil. I let it go for now. There was absolutely nothing I could do in this stage. I got some rest, aiming to question Angi about things in the morning.

When I awoke, Angi wasn't in her side room. She must've went out. I got up carefully, slight discomfort and soreness going through my body. I looked to my right to see a note on the ground where I was sleeping. I picked it up reading it.

_Stay in the cabin. There's some food for three day's worth. I'm going out on a hunting trip. I should be back soon. Sorry I didn't wake you, I just realized that my food stores were almost empty._

_-Angi_

I crumpled up the note and threw it into the fire. So naturally I did everything I could possibly do while stuck in the cabin. I started to work out, working through the soreness and years of horrible conditioning. I could definitely take pain, I just didn't have the strength to do anything. I mostly did push-ups, squats, and crunches. I did this for three days, making some strength come to me. Angi returned that day hauling a cart full of dead game with a horse. She came in to see if I was still there apparently.

"Eventful stay?" She asked taking off her hood and scarf. The snow brushed off of the heavy pelts she wore.

"Nothing other than me working out trying to get into shape," I replied, "How was the hunting trip?"

"Enough for us for a week," she replied, "I just have to skin and clean them."

"You need help?" I asked, "When I was little, and my family was still alive, my father taught me how."

"I'm guessing that your family was part of a huntsmen clan or something in Valenwood?"

"Pretty much," I replied nodding, "he taught me nothing but the basics though, before the Thalmor came in and slaughtered them all. I would've been along with them had I not hid."

Angi nodded. "Well alright then," Angi said, "Let's see what you've got. Be careful though. We don't want you pushing yourself too much."

We walked outside into the freezing air. I just realized how cozy Angi's Cabin really was. The outside of her cabin was a pretty ingenious set up. She lived up here all by herself. North was an extremely steep slope that almost rivaled a cliff. I saw stairs and what looked like an Archery range close to the cliff. The camp itself was large for one person, but offered every little bit of necessities. There was a sheltered roof attached to the Cabin, particularly the walls of Angil's room and the main room. It was built into the mountainous wall. This seemed to be Angi's little workshop. She had various tools hanging up on racks under the shelter, a workbench, an anvil. There was a small gap between the Cabin Wall and the mountainside. I didn't really explore back there, but there was more things back there. There was a large fire pit with roasting mounts above it. Across from the cabin on the other side of the fire pit was a stable and small fenced in area along the mountain side. Next to that was a shelter for split wood for the fires. Finally, along the mountainside was what looked like several strands of rope and hooks dangling in the air with large wooden buckets under each hook. There was butcher's table off to the side as well as barrels already ready for storage. This woman had quite the set up.

"Help me string these up," She replied. I nodded helping her string up three Elk, Deer, and Wolves each by their hind legs. She elaborated on why they weren't sheltered out here. "The best part about being up here, is that the freezing weather slows down the decomposition. I can take my time skinning the catch and cleaning them." Ingenious. We got to work immediately after slitting the throats of the animals allowing them to bleed into the buckets. I wondered if she used the blood for something. My father used to use it as fertilizer for our crops. Blood enriched the soil to promote growth in plants. It only took five minutes for the animals to bleed.

Gutting the deer was easy. It all depends on how you start. I was taught to work from the top to the bottom. First, you simply discard the genitals, the intestines, and stomach. Then you discard the other organs either for consumption or getting rid of it. Next was severing the trachea, lungs and everything else that went to the head completely. After that, using clothes I wiped the inside of the gutted animal out. After that, skinning it wasn't so hard. In fact, that was the best part about it. We ended up draping the pelts over a wire after wiping down the underside. Finally, it was time to carve the meat out, salt them, then store them in the barrels. The entire process took about three or four hours. I found out that Angi used the excess blood and organs to lure in predators to a single spot. Somewhere where she hunted.

"Not bad," she said as she began cleaning her tools, "Didn't think you'd remember how to do clean or skin, but these are pretty good."

"Other than handling a bow a little," I replied, "That was as far as I got in the family training."

"I see," She said, "Have you ever tanned a hide before?"

"No."

"Okay then," She said, "Come over here." I obeyed. "We're going to tan it to make leather." She showed me exactly how to tan it as we removed the fur and covered the hide in solution that would eventually help the hide leather out. That took a couple days. But the leather was used to make a new saddle for the horse and bindings for the cart. By this time, I had regained all of my strength back. I helped Angi around her camp. It was now the tenth of Last Seed. We were sitting around the fire pit located outside. Something had always got to me. I wondered why she was way out here all by herself to begin with.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her as she threw another log in the fire.

"Shoot," She replied.

"Why are you way out here and not in a city or something?" I asked.

She breathed. "I've been out here for about ten years now," She replied, "I moved here from Helgen after my family was killed. At the time, I couldn't stand to be around anyone. They all felt sorry for me, but I didn't want them to be. It was my problem, not theirs." She didn't like pity for herself, but she pitied me when she found out about my past.

"I'm sorry about your family," I said offhandedly.

"Don't be like them," She said, "Don't feel sorry for me." That statement left me in a state of confusion, but I didn't press further on pity.

"So who killed your family then?" I asked.

"Two Imperial drunks who thought they were above the law," She said venomously, "I took care of them though. That's part of the reason I'm living up here anyways."

"I see," I replied, "And any other reason in particular?"

"Other than killing the two Imperials and everyone's pity?" She said rubbing her cheek, "I guess I like how quiet it is out here. I can live out here and hunt all I want. Living off the land isn't so bad if you know what you're doing."

"That's good I guess," I replied. Silence befell us once more for a short while until my gaze lingered over on the range. "You know, I never see you using that Range over there. Any explanation why?"

"You've been around and keeping me busy," She replied, "And I shoot at it from time to time. Don't want to get rusty with my bow."

"Do you mind if I give the range a try?"

"Sure," Angi said, "I don't see why not." She got up and walked over to one of the many chests she had lying around the inside of the cabin. She opened it revealing a quiver and many arrows. A cabinet held a bow made of wood. It was a measly longbow, and that in itself brought back memories. I remembered target practice with my brothers. How we were always in competition and how I always lost. The arrows didn't even have iron ends on them, just sharpened wooden points. "I use these to practice with," She spoke, "It saves my good ones for when I need them. They act just like a normal arrow though, just not as effective."

"Good to know," I replied nodding. I went to draw the bow back after notching an arrow. I aimed at the closest target and let it fly. It didn't even hit the small target. Instead, it flew pass it on the left. I frowned looking at my miss. I drew back again and fired once more. Angi didn't say a word to me. But she seemed to swiveled her head between her repairs on her cabin and me. I missed again. I hit the target for the first time. I was extremely out of practice. I fired another arrow, missing. Miss, miss, miss, hit, miss, miss, hit, hit, miss, miss, miss, miss, hit, miss, hit, hit, miss. That's how it went.

"Hold on right there," Angi said coming down the stairs, "You look like you could use some help." She seemed amused.

"Yeah," I said lowering the bow in depression, "Remember, last time I shot a bow, I was six."

"I can tell," Angi replied, "Go retrieve those arrows first." I did as she asked picking up around twenty practice arrows and putting them back in the quiver. "First off, what did your father teach you when you were younger?"

"Just to aim and shoot," I replied, "I was very young."

"So you know little to nothing about actual archery."

"My training was delayed around seventeen years," I answered almost curtly.

"I understand that," Angi spoke nodding. She leaned against the trunk of remains of a tree. "Tell me. Do you want to learn Archery?"

"Of course," I replied nodding.

"How badly?"

"It's all that gave me hope while I was being tormented," I replied, "I've wanted to become the greatest archer and hunter anyone's ever seen."

Angi stared at me for a moment as if debating something. "Fine," She said, "I'm not boasting or anything, but I am one of Skyrim's finest Archer's and hunters." I knew it. She was so skilled. "I've been doing this since I was your age. Go figure."

"Oh really?" I asked, "Who taught you how to use a bow? Your father?"

"My father was away from home a lot," Angi answered patiently, "It was my mother who gave me my lessons." She stood at the range line before drawing her bow. "She always said that composure was the key to being a successful archer." She pulled back on the drawstring her body parallel to the target and her aiming arm extended out. Her shot was true as it hit the target on the bullseye. "But first, what you need to realize is that there's more to archery than aiming and shooting."

"I know there is," I said, "I always knew. Will you teach me?"

"I can teach you a lot," She replied before notching another bow, "Observe." She glanced at the target, then looked at me before releasing an arrow. I watched the arrow hit the furthest target away right on the bullseye." My mouth dropped. She shot it without looking. To prove her point, she did the same thing three more times at a fast pace. "I may not be a nimble as your kin," She said, "But I can teach you about Archery that would make them envy you." My face lit up. "But here's the deal. You have to listen to everything I say and do anything I say understood?"

"Yes Master." I said nodding towards her.

"I'm not your master," She spoke, "I'm your teacher."

"I'm sorry Angi," I replied, "It's just, where I come from, we call our instructors master."

"Don't do that," Angi spoke.

"Yes ma'am," I replied nodding.

"I want you to return that bow, those arrows, and that quiver back to the chest," Angi said.

"Return them?"

"Yes," Angi said, "Before you learn to wield a bow, you're going to learn everything you can about them."

"But how do I learn about them without wielding it?" I asked.

"You'll see," She spoke, "Remember what I told you? Do everything I ask."

"Yes ma'am." I reluctantly obeyed just as Angi came over.

"Before you can wield a bow," She said, "You have to know everything about it. She held out her bow. There are three designs to every bow. The designs are Reflex, Recurve, and Longbow. The Longbow is generally used for target practice or in desperation. It's not as effective as other bows. Then you have this bow, a hunting bow." She was speaking about her bow. "Its design is the Reflex design and is made completely of wood like the Longbow. Now, the parts of a bow. The top of the bow is known as the upper limb while the bottom is known as the lower limb. The string here is known as a bowstring. The little piece that holds the bowstring at each end of the bow is known as the nock. The riser is this general area here." She showed me the center of the bow where the upper and lower limbs converged. The Grip is where your non-dominate hand goes to hold the bow steady and to aim the bow itself. The rest is where the Arrow will rest while you aim. The arrow window is where the riser is and hopefully, where your aim will be." She showed me everything twice over before moving onto the arrow. "An arrow also has different parts. The arrowhead." She pointed at the iron arrowhead that was triangular. "This entire area which the arrowhead is attached to is known as the shaft. This is the fletchling. It is made of feathers and helps stabilize the entire arrow in flight. The final part is the nock where the arrow is pulled back in the drawstring." She gave me a look before handing me her bow. "Now, tell me what everything is on this bow." I recited everything she told me for the past thirty minutes, getting everything perfectly right.

After that, she had me doing push-ups and pull-ups. The reason being was so that I had enough strength to draw a bow and holding it. She said even for a wood elf, I was fairly weak. So I trained for a week straight on nothing but improving my general strength. After that, she finally let me put a bow in my hands. She taught me the correct way to pull back. It wasn't as bland as it sounded. There was posture you had to have when pulling back.

"Anyone can shoot an arrow," Angi spoke, "Whether or not they hit their target remains to be seen." She took a stance and held her bow. Her feet were placed inline with the target, her upper body turned towards the target with her non-dominate hand holding the bow. "You never want to push the bow away from you while holding the bowstring. That just creates bad habits."

She allowed me to practice once again for the entire week. The three targets that were closest were hit constantly. "Remember to breathe," She told me, "Composure is key. If you can remain calm, even in the midst of chaos, your arrow will most likely find its target." I kept firing at random targets before she literally made a loud noise with a frying pan and a wooden spoon right behind me. I jumped as I released the arrow, missing the target by several feet. "Composure," She spoke. I nodded notching up another arrow. This she did it again, I missed once more. "Composure." She did things like this throughout the week literally trying to through my aim off. Eventually, I got used to it. But she did things like make loud noises, throw rocks, and throw clumps of snow to attempt to throw off my aim off. When a winter storm rolled through, I was required to practice then as well, as it threw off my aim thanks to wind changes and snow that fell from the sky. I was becoming pretty proficient at my aim in close quarters. My speed was developing as well. Close range, things were easier with speed of hitting the targets. She told me she learned how to shoot at such speeds for a specific reason. "My older brother took me out hunting a lot when I was little. At the time, it was difficult to keep food on the table, let alone have enough left over to sell at the market. So whenever we came across more than one deer in a single location, it was imperative we kill as many as we could. If you can learn to keep your composure and trust that each shot is true, then you should be able to quickly handle multiple targets."

The week after that, we moved onto targets at longer range. This was tougher than my usual targets. There was one more target that was further than any of them. It was difficult to hit this one. I didn't touch it once the entire first day. "Often times you won't be able to get as close to your prey as you'd like and you'll have to settle with a long shot. However, with such a long shot, it's more likely that's the only shot you'll be able to take before your prey runs off. Try holding your breath when you're aiming. It helps you concentrate." I obeyed. "Aim a little higher." I did as she asked. "One thing you need to understand is that no matter how light something is, gravity always brings it back to the ground. This is the same for arrows. You'll find that long ranged shots cause arrows to arc. How fast depends on the arrow's make, and strength of the bow." It took me a while to get used to the arcing of an arrow for longer ranges, but I got the hang of it. By the end of the week, I was firing arrows at all four targets with precision, speed, and composure.

"I have taught you everything can on archery," Angi had told me as she leaned on her favorite tree trunk at the range, "Everything that I know myself that is. Most archers take many months to learn what you did in just a few short weeks."

"I thank you for that," I replied nodding.

"It's no problem," Angi spoke shrugging, "It's nice to have someone out here every now and then. Teaching you how to use the bow beats sitting here listening to the wind when I have nothing to do."

"I'll pay you back for this someday," I said, "I swear it."

"You don't have to do anything for me," Angi spoke, "Just think of this as a favor by someone who hates the Thalmor, though probably not as much as you do." I looked at her for a while, before nodding. There was nothing else I could do _but _agree and accept. "What will you do now?" I looked out at Skyrim. We were literally on the rim of Skyrim.

"I don't know," I replied as I walked out onto the rocky point that jutted from the mountainside as she followed, but not too closely behind, "Archery has become my passion. I'll keep practicing. But first, I'll probably see about making a little bit of coin. Then, I'll probably live off the land or something. Make a living down there in that forest."

"That's the Falkreath Hold," Angi spoke walking up next to me with her arms folded, "It's nothing but forest. The forest probably doesn't compare to the forests of Valenwood."

"No," I said, "Valenwood's trees are much larger than the redwood's and pines down there. These are but half the size. Still though, I'll probably be right at home." I noticed a large city down there with thatch roofing on ninety percent of the buildings. "Is that the Hold's capital?"

"Yeah," Angi replied, "That's Falkreath. From up here, Falkreath looked similar to Bosmer housing. The difference was, the boxy square design compared to our overlapping circular designs with few corners. Some of our housing was also in the tree trunks and roots. We hardly used stone as walls, unless it was a temple or something similar on the ground. Our architecture involved the landscape or unharmed foliage around us. Until the Dominion came around, my brethren in Valenwood followed a pact known as _The Green Pact_ which was made with Y'ffre, our forest much of our architecture was made by forested trees and plant life. I noticed the large graveyard closer to the Nordic ruin. The graveyard was massive, stretching North. It would be a long trek to get down there. "I better get going," I said to her, "I've got some traveling to do."

"Are you going to Falkreath?" Angi asked.

"Yes," I replied, "I'll probably work at a mill or something so I can buy a bow and some equipment."

"There _is_ a mill down there," Angi said, "But I doubt the owner will let you work."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"He and his brother who is owner of the general store are stormcloak supporters," Angi replied, "His brother's lenient as long as you are trading. But the mill owner hates _Provincials_. He dislikes Imperials, Orcs, Khajiit, Argonians, Redguards, and Bretons. He hates all Elves. Pretty much if you aren't a Nord, he has a strong distain towards you. His name's Bolund and his brother is named Solaf. I would go to Helgen first, there's a mill there owned by a man named Torolf. He'll put you to work if you want."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, "I guess I should get going Angi."

"I won't let you leave without one final gift," Angi spoke giving me a wooden hunting bow. "Take this bow and Quiver" She was holding out one of her wooden hunting bows.

I looked at her with slight apprehension. "You've given me so much already," I replied, "I don't think I can take anything else from you on good conscious."

"Nonsense," Angi spoke, "You can't just wander the wilderness without a weapon to defend yourself with. _I _can't on good conscious allow that. Don't argue with me Joradin. When you make enough money to buy your own bow and equipment, if you want to, you can return the bow." There was no arguing with this woman. She was simply enforcing her will upon me. I nodded reluctantly before taking it.

My journey began when I followed Angi's path to the main road. Beforehand, she gave me directions to Helgen so I knew where I was going. I followed the road down the mountain that turned into a dirt path once more. I crossed a stream before finding the main road. This entire process took a couple hours and I had entered the Hold's forest. I found the main road and followed it East, to where Helgen was said to be. I found it alright, and I found Torolf and his Mill too. He put me to work alright. If it wasn't for my time being in a Torturer's labor camp, I probably wouldn't know what I was doing. I made a thousand gold in just a few short days. When I did, I spent my time at the general store and Blacksmith buying more arrows and a different set of clothes. I stuck with my favorite colors, mostly forest colors though. Green, brown, and some grey. I wore a green hooded tunic, with a brown leather vest and grey pants. I kept my hood up however. I always ate in the local Inn where drunk Nords always hung about.

There was a bout between the Nords and an Argonian with jet black scales and dark green feathers atop his head. I watched as that Argonian took care of those three Nords without any effort at all hardly. The way he defended himself was pretty astounding. When he looked my way, I gave him a nod. It was clearly impressive to see him do such things. I had decided to stay one more night there before taking off in the morning. I had gotten a tip from Vilod, the Inn owner that there was a nearby cave that someone stumbled upon full of wolves. That would be a perfect place to begin my career as a hunter. As I started out that morning, I noticed something that struck fear in me. There were five High Elves standing near the North Entrance of the keep. One of them was a woman on a horse in robes. The rest were in Golden Armor all wearing helmets save the only other female who wore a golden hood that wasn't up. The Elven woman in armor and with a hood was beautiful beyond recognition, yet I had seen her somewhere before? What was her name? She wasn't around when the torturer got ahold of me and the other orphans. Had I seen her beforehand? I didn't know. She caught me staring. When she did, I continued on towards the South Gate. The gate was already opening, revealing a convoy led by Legion soldiers. The man leading the convoy looked very important and was definitely high up in the Legion. The convoy however, wasn't supplies. It was prisoners, all Nords, most of them wearing blue armor save three. One of them wore something akin to royal clothes with his mouth covered by a fold. Another that was across from him had a look of pure fright. The one in the front of the carriage who looked as if he had been sleeping was barely a man with long dark brown hair. He didn't look as muscular as his brethren. In fact, he didn't look like he belonged there at all. He looked at me, more confused than worried or at peace. I shrugged it off as I kept going passing five carts of Nord prisoners. They must've been rebels.

I kept following the road for about ten minutes, though I stopped after hearing something unfamiliar to any animal I had every heard before. It was a loud roar. The forest was too dense to get any idea as to what it was. Then I heard it again after a moment. And I saw. A massive shadow passed through the mountains before flying behind it. I didn't see what it was, but it was huge, unlike any creature I had ever seen before. It roared again. Then the sky changed from clear blue, to reddish orange cloudy. Flaming rock fell from the sky all targeting a general area. Then I realized something. Those flaming rock and the massive creature were converging on Helgen! I ran back towards Helgen. I had backtracked in half the time it took me to get to where I was on the road. I was expecting soldiers fighting or the dead corpse of a beast from Imperial archers. No. What I found was utter destruction. Helgen was decimated and burning. The gates had been blasted apart, the towers and keep in ruins, the wooden structure afire, and charred corpses everywhere. There was no sign of the culprit either. I heard a roar. I looked up at the mountainside to see it perched on a cliff. It was pitch black with jagged scales and glowing red eyes. It was something that I hadn't seen in my life before or anyone for that matter. It was a dragon. The Dragon roared once more dropping off the ledge and spreading its wings before flying North. I just witnessed the end of a Dragon attack. There were no survivors. I looked and looked. No one survived. The entrances to the keep were barred shut but no one answered. Eventually I overcame the shock of what happened before heading back up the road. I let out a mournful sigh as I left Helgen for the last time.


End file.
